TWO budding young journalists with a passion for science found themselves making headlines when they entered a national competition.

Bolton School pupils Yasmine Surrendramohan and Akshaya Kumar were among hundreds of teenagers who submitted entries for the national SciNews competition.

Pupils aged 14 to 16 were invited to write a 300-word news story about a recent medical or health-related advance which had intrigued them.

Yasmine, aged 16, from Bolton, won joint second prize for her story, "Chocolate Boosts Brain Power", and 14-year-old Akshaya, from Standish, Wigan, was awarded third prize for her work on an alternative to injections for people suffering from diabetes.

Both pupils were presented with science goody bags and certificates. Their articles will also be published on the Youth and Schools section of the Cancer Research UK website.

The charity's regional spokeswoman, Jane Bullock, said: "People have a huge appetite for science and health-related news and we're always looking for new ways to present it.

"Yasmine and Akshaya have done extremely well to win prizes because there were some excellent entries."

Bolton School science teacher Kerry Blagden said: "We are thrilled that Yasmine and Akshaya did so well in the competition.

"They worked extremely hard to think of such imaginative entries."